Review: Delta VS Panhard Lift Bracket (1 Viewer)

[LandCruiserPhil]

Pics of panhard rod comparo. A stock one vs an adj one. I'm noticing how level-ish the rear panhard rod is now with the Delta bracket. I wonder if my Slee 4" heavies are getting tired and the rear is a little droopy? I'd have thought a little bit more of an angle is the norm?

Incidentally, the stock panhard came from the U Pull N Pay last week. It belonged to a LX450 that must've lived up North someplace as it was full of rust and had THREE 120vac plugs for heaters.

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Solid feedback
Looks like an ideal panhard set up with your lift.

 

[icorradoi]

Here are my installation notes and pics. I am running Slee 4" heavy in the rear and the thicker coil did interfere with the bracket. The pics are self explanatory.

I am running an adj rear panhard rod and you'll see that in the body's neutral state, it's a tad too long. Sure, I could've simply forced the body over and the bolt holes would've lined up. But, it was easy just to decrease the length by approx 5/32" (guess).

Another pic shows a stock panhard rod vs my adj panhard rod after I removed mine from the vehicle. You can see how much longer a 4" lifted panhard is from a stock one.

The slight interference was easily taken care of by a flapper wheel and some paint. @icorradoi have the same issue with his Slinky springs.

I'd like to see how some folks are taking care of the interference between the Delta bracket and the ABS sensor wire bracket. Mine is just zip tied until I take the time to reattach it correctly.

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Yup, I think this is the solution I'll be going with as well. A little grinding and painting. I marked mine up this weekend, although, I don't think I'll have to take off as much material as I have marked. Will also either, cut the bolt shorter or buy a new one, so I can install it from the rear and not have it contact the spring.

 

[Shoredreamer]

Pics of panhard rod comparo. A stock one vs an adj one. I'm noticing how level-ish the rear panhard rod is now with the Delta bracket. I wonder if my Slee 4" heavies are getting tired and the rear is a little droopy? I'd have thought a little bit more of an angle is the norm?

Incidentally, the stock panhard came from the U Pull N Pay last week. It belonged to a LX450 that must've lived up North someplace as it was full of rust and had THREE 120vac plugs for heaters.

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Interesting, I’ll have to go out and check now since I’m running Slee 4” heavies as well. I don’t think I have any rubbing. I also am at about the same lift height as you are with the Slee’s.

 

[alia176]

Interesting, I’ll have to go out and check now since I’m running Slee 4” heavies as well. I don’t think I have any rubbing. I also am at about the same lift height as you are with the Slee’s.

After installation I went wheeling at a nearby place with some axle twisters. I heard one sound then nothing. Upon closer inspection it seems that the gap between the spring and the Delta bracket is a touch wider. The spring must've unloaded enough to move forward just a tad, which is fine. I'd venture to guess the gap now to 3/32".

I'd be curious to see what your gap is or maybe you're scraping lightly on the Slee springs.

 

[Shoredreamer]

@alia176 yeah I definitely don’t rub with my HD Slee springs. It may have to do with pinion angle. I have stock control arms so I haven’t had to rotate the axle with adjustable upper or lower arms to fix my pinion, yet. I’m guessing as the lift height goes up, the rear pinion angle needs to be changed to match the TC output angle. The more the axle rotates when you adjust your pinion with the arms, the higher the chance of the bracket interfering. Are you running adjustable lower or upper arms?

 

[icorradoi]

It looks like it did rub at some point.

 

[alia176]

It looks like it did rub at some point.

I agree it appears to have rubbed already and will rub some more as that spring unloads a little bit.

 

[alia176]

@alia176 Are you running adjustable lower or upper arms?
/QUOTE]

I'm running adj upper arms so the pinion *should* be back to OEM angle, which would mean no rubbing should take place. But the OD of these springs maybe a tad large enough to introduce rubbing. Also, when that springs unloads, it can move around so that gap might get closer or further. In my case, the gap increased after I tested out the suspension on an axle twisting area. The next time, the gap might close up some, who knows. In any case, slight clearancing of the area will guarantee to rubbage in the future. YMMV.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

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Wow, more clearance than portals with that set up, you have at least 2 FEET under the diff there


Be interested to see those with coil touching bracket set up if you have std control arms upper and lower or not ?


Woody has the intermediate slinkys in his 80, not the HD, difference being aprox 1mm wire dia difference .

Given we use up to 4mm wire dia thicker for some super extra heavy duty applications, some extra clearance in the coil area would be helpful in the design, if its not an arm length issue, rather than bracket clearance to coil issue.

It looks to be a simple quick redesign to include extra clearance.

 

[Delta VS]

1. Be interested to see those with coil touching bracket set up if you have std control arms upper and lower or not ?

2. It looks to be a simple quick redesign to include extra clearance.

1. This is a good point
2. This item has engineering stress tests driving the design. A "quick redesign" is not in the cards at this point.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

I would suggest a computer modelled stress test, vs many coil manufacturers winding tighter coils would be the easier option

But lets see the data on the arm lengths first, as we have 1/2" longer lower arms, and adjustable uppers available for these too, so this may help or hinder, or be the cause, without knowing who has what so far.

 

[Shoredreamer]

I’ve got 4xOverland upper adjustable arms coming so my hypothesis will be tested soon. They will be shorter than stock, which will rotate the axle downward and possibly cause interference on my 21.5mm diameter SLEE coils.

 

[alia176]

Answer to the questions above, I have Adj upper control arms so the pinion ought to be at the stock angle-ish!

 

[HDJdreams]

@Delta VS do you have suggestions for measuring to determine the largest bracket that will fit?

I have the Slinky Intermediate kit with the kit supplied frame bumpstops (extended 3/4” over OEM best I can tell). There’s a 6” difference between heights of the frame and axle mounts of the Panhard rod on level ground.

This weekend or next, I will be pulling my rear springs to install airbags. While I was at it, I was going to pull one spring out, then jack up that side into the frame bumpstop and hopefully get full droop on the other side, with the tires on (narrow 33”s). Then measure from the top of the Panhard rod at the axle mount up to the next obstruction (the crossmember?). To figure out big of bracket I can order.

Does that sound right? Any other clearances I should be checking or measurements I should get? Although it would be great to get the 5” to level the rod, as I eyeball it I am guessing that 3” will probably be the tallest I can use. :-/

 

[Delta VS]

@Delta VS do you have suggestions for measuring to determine the largest bracket that will fit?

I have the Slinky Intermediate kit with the kit supplied frame bumpstops (extended 3/4” over OEM best I can tell). There’s a 6” difference between heights of the frame and axle mounts of the Panhard rod on level ground.

This weekend or next, I will be pulling my rear springs to install airbags. While I was at it, I was going to pull one spring out, then jack up that side into the frame bumpstop and hopefully get full droop on the other side, with the tires on (narrow 33”s). Then measure from the top of the Panhard rod at the axle mount up to the next obstruction (the crossmember?). To figure out big of bracket I can order.

Does that sound right? Any other clearances I should be checking or measurements I should get? Although it would be great to get the 5” to level the rod, as I eyeball it I am guessing that 3” will probably be the tallest I can use. :-/

3" is what you're going to want unless you are willing to put way bigger tires or drop your bumpstops down more. The 5" bracket is turning out to be for pretty specialized rigs (need something to stop bracket/frame interaction, like 40" tires, 3.5-4" bumpstop extensions, etc). Lots of very hard testing with the 3" bracket and stock bumpstops (i.e., no extensions) showing the tiniest bit of interference, as in an 1/8" plate between frame and factory bumpstop would cure it.

Flexing everything out while spring is out is certainly the best approach, that way you know exactly what you're dealing with. Don't forget the bracket will get closer to the frame when going over a straight bump (think 60mph down a dirt road and hitting a berm all the way across the road). With over an inch between bracket and cross-member while flexing, shop truck still had a tiny rub mark after hitting some bumps hard, straight on.

 

[Haspin FJ]

Interested in one of these. I run OME heavies in the back with spring spacers and 1" frame mounted bump stop externders. Rig sits close to level. I have a RTT on and load it quite a bit when i wheel so I'm sure it drops a bit when loaded. I also plan to get an armored bumper with swing out with 35" when it works out. I measure 23.5" unloaded from the fender metal at the highest point to hub center. Is the 3" enough or should I look into getting a custom length made?

 

[Delta VS]

Interested in one of these. I run OME heavies in the back with spring spacers and 1" frame mounted bump stop externders. Rig sits close to level. I have a RTT on and load it quite a bit when i wheel so I'm sure it drops a bit when loaded. I also plan to get an armored bumper with swing out with 35" when it works out. I measure 23.5" unloaded from the fender metal at the highest point to hub center. Is the 3" enough or should I look into getting a custom length made?

Measuring from a smooth surface (garage cement or similar) to each of the panhard bolts is the best way to approach this particular situation. Get the rig loaded as normal first though. Once you have the two measurements, subtract the axle side from the chassis side. Anything up to a 5" difference should 100% use a 3" bracket. Over that and it becomes a conversation about what you're willing to trade in exchange for running a 5" bracket.

Details on measuring here: Delta Vehicle Systems Panhard Lift Bracket, 3" & 5"

 

[Sanchez]

No, not yet. Haven't had much time lately. I did get the bolt turned around, but I would have to remove the spring to have enough clearance to pull the bolt out now to remove the bracket. I'm thinking of cutting the bolt or buying a new, shorter one.

I'll take some better pics of the spring clearance issue and post them up. I could probably grind down the bracket a bit and make it work, but wanted to reach out to the guys at Delta to see what they think. I don't think it will compromise the integrity of the bracket, but just want to be sure before I start grinding on it. It really wouldn't take much to make it clear. Maybe less than a 1/4" off the reinforcement rib.

I'm pretty sure the issue is the diameter of the HD Slinkys. They are a thicker OD than any other springs I've seen. Made my OME springs look like OEM springs.

I had to do this as well

 

[iwashmycar]

Has Delta or anyone attempted fitting one of these to a FJ Cruiser? The panhard and link placement seems potentially identical.

 

[Delta VS]

Has Delta or anyone attempted fitting one of these to a FJ Cruiser? The panhard and link placement seems potentially identical.

We have not had access to an FJ Cruiser, but it is highly unlikely this would bolt up. We have a panhard DROP bracket for the 3rd gen 4runners, and are almost done with a lift bracket for the FJ100, FJ200, and GX470, all of them are slightly different. Same basic idea though.